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Rinderpest and Peste des Petits Ruminants: Virus Plagues of Large and Small
Ruminants

Article  in  Emerging Infectious Diseases · December 2010

DOI: 10.3201/eid1612.100923

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 BOOKS AND MEDIA

Rinderpest and
Peste des Petits
Ruminants: Virus
Plagues of Large
and Small
Ruminants
Tom Barrett, Paul-Pierre Pastoret,
and William P. Taylor, editors
Academic Press, Elsevier, London,
UK, 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0120883851
Pages: 341; Price: US $115.00
In Rinderpest and Peste des Petits
Ruminants: Virus Plagues of Large and
Small Ruminants, Tom Barrett (now
deseased), of the Institute for Animal
Health, Pirbright Laboratory, Surrey,
UK, and his co-editors have subtly
presented the main developments in
the quest to conquer these diseases.
The instructive text, which touches on
the key dynamics of both deadly dis-
eases, incorporates considerable his-
torical detail, infection biology, and
information on disease diagnosis, con-
trol, and eradication. This book con-
sists of high quality scientific and his-
torical research based on the editors’
experience with morbilliviruses and
collaborations with other researchers
worldwide. In total, 22 scientists have
contributed their expertise on various
infectious diseases to the monograph’s
17 chapters.
Throughout, the contributors
have tried to maintain an appropriate
balance between peste des petits ru-
minants (PPR) and rinderpest (RP).
This hypothesis-based balancing act
is important to understand PPR. A fu-
ture significance of PPR can be real-
ized by the phrase stated by the edi-
tors, “If rinderpest becomes a disease
of the past, PPR is certainly a disease
of the future.” The book starts with an
historical account of the RP and PPR
diseases accompanied by photographs
from the 18th century. These photo-
graphs are detailed, illustrative, and
fascinating. Of particular interest are
a condolence letter, written by Emile
Roux from Institute Pasteur to the
widow of Joseph Hamoir, with whom
Emile Roux worked on rinderpest, and
a group photo, including Robert Koch,
of his visit to the Imperial Veterinary
Laboratory (currently Indian Veteri-
nary Research Institute, Mukteshwar,
India) in 1897 where he conducted
experiments to immunize cattle with
the bile taken from an animal that had
succumbed in a virulent outbreak of
rinderpest.
The book focuses on the follow-
ing issues: relative position of each
member in the genera, comparative
molecular biology, pathophysiology
of the infectious diseases, global epi-
demiologic patterns, contribution of
countries in the eradication of the dis-
ease under the Pan African Rinderpest
Campaign Programme and the Pan
African Programme for the Control of
Epizootics, viral immune suppression,
and molecular diagnostic approaches
being developed. For all these is-
sues, the importance for clinicians of
accurate diagnosis and management
and prevention of infectious diseases
is highlighted. Because of the current
sensitivity about an emergence of PPR
and the successful Global Rinderpest
Eradication Programme, the contribu-
tors believe that PPR can be controlled
similarly and its spread prevented.
Thus, the last 7 chapters emphasize
the traditional prophylactic measures,
potency of vaccines and possibility
of vaccine use, the history of vaccine
improvement, recent advances in vac-
cine development, implementation of
international control campaigns for
the eradication of RP and PPR by us-
ing vaccine, and a brief overview of
the pathogenesis and eradication of
measles virus. Finally, the editors as-
sess the real cost and benefits of the
Global Rinderpest Eradication Pro-
gramme campaign and predict that the
world will soon be free of RP, at com-
paratively little cost.
Although the book discusses
many aspects of the current situation,
such as epidemiological distribution,
progress in vaccine development, and
advances in the diagnosis of PPR di-
agnostic procedures, information re-
garding the most recent developments
is lacking; a few chapters were written
in ≈2000 before the increase in PPR
research. Still, I consider this to be the
only book that comprehensively de-
scribes PPR. It is suitable not only for
academics and researchers, but also
for virologists, infectious disease spe-
cialists, vaccine researchers, and clini-
cians. Moreover, this book provides
appropriate scientific source material
suitable for undergraduate and gradu-
ate studies.
Muhammad Munir
Author affiliation: Swedish University of Ag-
ricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
DOI: 10.3201/eid1612.100923
Address for correspondence: Muhammad
Munir, Department of Biomedical Sciences and
Veterinary Public Health, Section of Virology,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
Ulls väg 2B, 751 89 Uppsala, Sweden; email:
muhammad.munir@bvf.slu.se

Correction—Vol. 16, No. 8

Correction—Vol. 16, No. 9
Table 2 in the article Novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis
The name of author Beth Feingold was misspelled
Complex Pathogen, M. mungi (K.A. Alexander et al.) con-
in the letter New Infectious Diseases and Industrial
tained several errors related to scoring of mycobacterial
Food Animal Production (E. Silbergeld et al.). The ar-
interspersed repetitive unit–variable number tandem re-
ticle has been corrected online (http://www.cdc.gov/
peats of selected isolates. The article has been corrected
eid/content/16/9/1503.htm).
online (http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/8/1296.htm).

2024 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 16, No. 12, December 2010

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